


Don't Try And Sleep Through the End of the World

by HerBreakingHeart



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Canon, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Infinity War (Marvel Comics), Loki (Marvel)-centric, M/M, Nicknames, Panic Attacks, hinted frostiron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 21:06:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14434077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerBreakingHeart/pseuds/HerBreakingHeart
Summary: He blinked warily, the figure in front of him slowly coming into focus. Red and gold, dark hair… heknewthis person, he was sure of it. The man smiled in relief, though Loki didn't know why. There were very few people he knew that wouldn't be happy at his death. "Hey, Reindeer Games. It's me, remember? You tried to kill me a while ago?"When Loki kept frowning at him, the man chuckled, "Oh right. With you I might need to be a bit more specific. You threw me out of my own window?"*Massive scrap of Frostiron meeting again in the middle of Infinity War :')*





	Don't Try And Sleep Through the End of the World

_He remembered being paralysed, frozen by power stronger than his and a fear that had been forever set into his bones. His worst nightmares come to life to taunt him, mock him… perhaps to finally kill him?_

_Loki remained rigid in place, the bodies of his people laying at his feet as the being that terrified him the most towered before him. The purple giant regarded him with a cool, calculating stare, one that seemed to leech the very life out of him in one single breath. His throat strained against the steel of Proxima's spear and his fearful gaze snagged onto the glistening gold of the Infinity Gauntlet. This was it. His sins were catching up with him at last._

_The cry of his brother was the trigger that snapped him out of his descent into terror and madness. Thor let out a pained yell as Thanos yanked his head back, blood gleaming from his attempts to fight back. Loki would've smiled if he could've: to the end his brother would remain slightly ignorant but always fighting. Always._

_"Now, my Trickster," the Mad Titan crooned, dragging Loki's attention back to him immediately. "I believe you have something of mine."_

_With a deep, raspy breath, Loki managed to say with a weak smirk in his voice, " **I** don't believe I know what you mean." Proxima hissed from behind him and the tip of her weapon dug into his flesh._

_Thanos grinned, the look of an adult indulging a child. "You know I found you intriguing for your ways with words and your love for games, Little God." Loki fought not to scowl at the demeaning title but the Titan caught his slight twitch and chuckled. "But that was a time when I had your loyalty and you had my respect. Both of which is gone."_

_The God of Mischief swallowed, but he was unable to stop his treacherous tongue, "Oh, what a travesty. I was so hoping that we could make amends and become friends again. For old times sake, perhaps?"_

_A gravelly, tired voice suddenly cut in with a cough, "Loki, stop." The Trickster lowered his fiery gaze to meet Thor's one good eye. His brother, bleeding and broken, looked at him with a startling clarity, something that succeeded in taking Loki's breath away. Until Thanos noticed their exchange and suddenly planted his foot onto Thor's back, stamping him into the ground while still holding his head._

_Over the top of Thor's anguished cries, the Titan taunted, "Do well to listen to your brother, Trickster. For my patience for you ran out a long time ago and I am in no mood to jest."_

_Unable to conceal his trembling, Loki watched helplessly as Thor was pulled to his limit, his body in serious harm of breaking in two. No, no, no. He couldn't lose Thor, not Thor. Frigga, Odin, the people of Asgard… not his big brother too._

_Before logic could change his mind, sentimentality took over his heart. "Wait!" **Please don't.**_

_Thanos paused, inclining his head towards Loki in a casual manner, his iron grip remaining latched onto Thor. "Yes?" He purred with a devilish smile. Thoughts of the apocalypse, of death and destruction, of the end of everything, came over Loki but they all seemed to disappear at the sight of his brother who remained on the ground, breathing harshly and quickly._

_With shaking hands and tears in his eyes, Loki produced the Tesseract from within the confinements of his mind, holding the glowing cube in a tight grip. With a deep breath, he offered it to the Mad Titan whose eyes seemed to shine with hunger at the sight of it. "Let me and my brother go. Do this, and it is yours."_

_The purple giant barked out a laugh and Loki couldn't resist his instinctive flinch. "Do my ears deceive me? Has Loki Laufeyson finally learned to love?" Thanos mocked, swinging Thor carelessly in his hold. Before the God of Mischief had a chance to answer, (with defense, indignation, acceptance - no one would ever know) the Mad Titan continued, "No matter. I had thought you were smarter than to think you had the right to bargain with me, little Trickster. Perhaps not."_

_The next was all a blur. Loki remembered the hiss of the Infinity Stone clicking into place, his own screams of anger and pain, the shock of blue lightning, the sharp sneer of Ebony Maw, the deep set agony of torture that seemed to spike every inch of his skin._

_It was never ending and no matter how hard he fought, Loki had no choice but to surrender to it all._

***

"Mr Stark, I don't think there's anyone left." A sad voice said, young, _too_ young to be here, Loki thought.

_Wait._

_A voice?_

"Keep looking, kid. You never know." _And another._ This one was familiar. Loki knew this person.

He struggled to open his eyes but a stinging sensation seemed to awake in his body and he winced harshly. The sound Loki emitted apparently caught someone's attention. "No _fucking_ way."

Rustling, fast and insistent. Someone's breath over his face, arms holding his gently. Then they began to shake and Loki frowned in annoyance, letting out a breathy groan. "What are you…"

He blinked warily, the figure in front of him slowly coming into focus. Red and gold, dark hair… he _knew_ this person, he was sure of it. The man smiled in relief, though Loki didn't know why. There were very few people he knew that wouldn't be happy at his death. "Hey, Reindeer Games. It's me, remember? You tried to kill me a while ago?"

When Loki kept frowning at him, the man chuckled, "Oh right. With you I might need to be a bit more specific. You threw me out of my own window?"

_Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity._

_Uh, actually… I'm planning to threaten you._

_You should've left your armour on for that._

_Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the glowstick of destiny. Would you like a drink?_

Man of Iron. The one Avenger that Loki could tolerate, even see himself in. During their conversation in Stark Tower, Loki could remember himself thinking that if the circumstances had been different, the two might've been friends. "Tony Stark."

The Man of Iron winked, "The one and only. Nothing like a fond memory to keep people close, eh?" While Loki rolled his eyes, a boy that couldn't have been more than a teenager hurried over to them. He was wearing a red and gold suit similar to Stark's with a spider emblazoned on the front. The god's eyes widened slightly.

"Wow, oh my god, I remember you!" The child began suddenly, thrusting his hand into Loki's face. His excited expression dropped dramatically and he lowered his voice, " _You will all kneel before me_." Loki's eyebrows hit his hairline. Was this child imitating him? He didn't shake the offered hand.

Tony grinned before frowning. "Thor said you'd died. What the hell happened?"

Loki opened his mouth to reply for it to suddenly go dry and he stopped. _Thor._

 _Blue lightning. Screams. Darkness. Blood. Pain._ Choked gasps got stuck in Loki's throat, effectively blocking out the words he tried to say. In the back of his mind, he heard his own voice scolding him for this sudden weakness: _Pull yourself together. Calm down, for Odin's sake!_ Chills ran along his skin, the pounding of blood in his ears mirroring the erratic beat of his heart. _What in Hel's name was happening to him?_

He heard Tony's voice as if it were far away rather than right in front of him. "Go find Strange, kid. I'll handle this."

His own pained mutters could barely be made out, "No, I'm…. fine… Thor…. Thor…" They came to a halt as Tony knelt in front of him, his warm brown eyes looking deep into Loki's shocked blue ones. The nightmarish images that flitted through his mind paused as the other man held Loki's wrists which had began to shake violently. His lips parted but no sound could come out.

"Just breathe for me, Loki, alright?" The mortal prompted gently, the gauntlets on his suit retracting to reveal human hands that stroked soothing circles against his skin. Loki tried in earnest to concentrate on that soft touch, clinging to the promise of comfort and care. He drank it all in with an intense need, his shallow breaths filling the space between the two men. "That's it, just like that, Lokes…"

Between his slower sighs, Loki huffed in disbelief, "Lokes?"

Tony's concerned face split into a grin, scruffy and oddly charming. "You don't like it? I thought it was cute." The other coughed in response, a mild grimace twisting his face. The Man of Iron just chuckled. "I was gonna go with Lokester but-"

"That's quite enough, Stark." The god interrupted abruptly, ripping his hands out of Tony's as blood rushed to his cheeks. _How could he let a mortal comfort him? Help him?_ He sat still for a while, trying to focus on the many injuries he felt inflicting his body. More than a few broken bones to be sure, a head wound of some kind to explain the blood that dripped from his temple. And yet he couldn't bring himself to care, not while his emotions ran rampant and flashbacks threatened to overcome his brain. He felt tears running down his face and hated himself for that bout of frailty. _What had even…_ "What just happened to me?"

He turned to the other man almost accusingly. Tony raised his eyebrows but Loki could tell it was out of surprise and not of a condescending nature. "Well, um… you had a panic attack, Lok… Lok _i_." When the other showed no signs of understanding, the Man of Iron continued, "It's just a reaction that some people get when they're really nervous or scared or whatever. I've had plenty if it makes you feel better." He added quickly, his own words causing the playful glint in his eyes to dim. Loki pretended not to notice. Empathy would do him no good in this situation. He was showing enough weakness as it was.

"No, it does not." He snapped, ignoring Stark's slight flinch with a small pang in his heart. Impatiently, he tried to sit up only to have a horrible agony rip up his side, unable to stop his pained yell.

"Whoa there, big fella." Tony scolded, hovering over him even more. "Chill, Merlin should be on his way and then you'll be good as new." _Merlin? Who in the Norns was that?_ Loki frowned, thinking of all the sorcerers he knew - which were many as he liked to keep track of possible threats. He came up short in confusion but perhaps the mortal had given them a nickname of some kind. Stark seemed fond of them, Loki thought grudgingly.

There was a tense beat of silence before Tony couldn't resist and spoke again, "Um… do you _know_ what happened here?" Loki opened his mouth to retort _of course he did because he wasn't some brainless wandering idiot_ but found he couldn't.

"I… I…" He ended up groaning out of sheer annoyance, almost frustrating himself to tears _again._ "I can't remember." He finished lamely, not wanting to meet Stark's eyes. "Fleeting images, _horrible images_ but…" _Nothing._

"It's ok, Lokes. We'll figure it out." Loki didn't have the heart to correct him, not when he finally looked up to see Tony's warm comforting smile that didn't hold an ounce of judgement. It reminded him of Frigga but his mother had never made him feel so… _so-_

"I've got the Doctor, Mr Stark!" Their shared gaze broke to turn to the teenager who now had an older man with him, decked out in red and blue robes, a golden talisman of some kind hanging from his neck. _Oh Norns…_

"Why, hello again, Loki." Doctor Strange said with a smug smile, "I have half a mind to pick up where we left off but since you're not a giant eggplant, you're not at the top of my to do list."

"Always a pleasure, Doctor." The Trickster sneered through gritted teeth.

Tony glanced between them frantically, his eyes bright. His laugh sounded forced in the strained atmosphere. "I guess the end of the world brings everyone together, huh?"

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a massive scrap that I wanted to get posted before I see Infinity War (tomorrow night wish me luck). I have no idea what's going to happen to these two who are my ultimate favourites in the marvel universe and the ones I'll miss the most. It's funny that several months ago I was hoping that they might get a scene together and now I'm just praying that they'll both make it out alive. We'll see. 
> 
> Sorry that this is super rushed, I just couldn't think of an explanation as to how Tony and Loki met in this fic but if I were in charge of Infinity War, this is along the lines of what I'd write :) 
> 
> Praying for these lovable little shits that deserve so much more. See you guys on the other side <3 
> 
> (Title is lyrics from Panic! at the Disco's 'This is Gospel'.)
> 
>  
> 
> EDIT: For anyone that was asking for another FrostIron Infinity War fic, I've written another one-shot called Goodbye, My Lover. If you couldn't tell, it's angsty and sad as hell so be warned. It also contains spoilers to Infinity War so don't read if you haven't watched :)


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